China probed 25k people for graft in 2014′s first half: Report

China has investigated more than 25,000 people for corruption in the first half of 2014 amid a nationwide crackdown on graft, state media reports.

The investigation of major corruption cases has increased by nearly 14 percent over the corresponding period last year, China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Approximately 85 percent of the cases involved bribes of over USD 8,000 or embezzlement of at least twice that amount, the news agency said, citing the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP).

“The SPP will set up a leading … [task] group to retrieve bribery funds from overseas, enhance its supervision over major cases, and build a database of information about fugitive officials,” the news agency said.

The statement comes as the Chinese government embarks on a wide-scale campaign against deep-rooted graft since President Xi Jinping kicked off an anti-corruption campaign two years ago.

Since then, several high-profile lawmakers have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and charged with corruption, paving the way for their prosecution.

On June 30, official Xinhua news agency reported that Gen. Xu Caihou, a former deputy chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission, which controls China’s army, has been accused of accepting money and property in exchange for promotions and other favors.

Reports say three other senior figures were also expelled from the Communist Party for corruption – Jiang Jiemin, head of China’s state-owned assets watchdog, former vice minister of public security, Li Dongsheng, and Wang Yongchun, a former vice president of China National Petroleum Corp.

Tens of thousands of officials have already been arrested since the start of the campaign.

President Xi has pledged to root out every corrupt official, whether “tigers” or “flies.”

The president said widespread graft threatens the party’s survival.

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